Glitch
by GhostInThePhoto
Summary: Klaus reaction to an accident turning Caroline back human.
1. Chapter 1

A million things could have gone wrong for him that night, ironically the only thing that truly did was the factor that helped him defeat them all. They had had it all set-up. Everyone had been prepared to get rid of him. Just like he had been prepared to one-up them once more. As it turns out, his defense plan would not be necessary. The witch never got to perform her spell, at least not the way it had been intended. A glitch was all that had happened. A witch´s spell failing just like that - not due to a disruption or to an apparent weakness of the witch, but simply on its own - it happened. About as often as a mere human hit the jack pot in the lottery or as often as lightning struck twice. To be accurate, Klaus had heard of these events happening twice, during his life time. And he had kept of an army of witches throughout the centuries. Grimoires hardly mentioned them, he doubted Bonnie Bennett would find the explanation in hers. Instead of stopping his heart from beating, it did the reverse- on someone other than him.

It had taken him some moments to grasp what exactly must have happened, as he suddenly heard the heart in Caroline´s unconscious body beat heavily, as he suddenly could detect a human flavor in her divine scent, making her even sweeter than before. A coincidence of epic proportions had turned his desired companion human.

Having realized this before any of them did, he left the scene. He missed her waking up to the feel of oxygen back in to her lungs, her need to readjust to breathing, he pulse quickening over the realization. But he never strayed far.

Over the next few days, he kept close watch on her. The Salvatores naturally tried to keep an eye on her and protect her from his advances, but ultimately they never caught him in-time. So he watched her every time she ventured out for a walk in the sun, soaking in the warm feeling of rays tangling across her fair skin. And he watched her reconnect with her mother as her daughter had returned to being human. There was a lump forming in his throat as he observed everything happening around her attentively. As he watched her falling in love with her regained humanity.

To his dismay, she still saw that mutt. Not needing to hear their love-making, he abandoned her place for a few hours, before returning later that evening, watching her laying in bed, cuddled up against Tyler´s chest. A wave of envy crushed him in that moment. But he stayed, waiting for something he couldn´t yet name.

Eventually she woke up and quietly made her way down towards the kitchen, her senses no longer catching on to the predator lurking for her in the next room. He had meant to keep quiet and just let her return to bed, until he watched her standing by the fridge, helping herself to some milk. Her tank top had risen up a bit, revealing bruises on her back. That ultimately triggered it.

In a flash he had her chest gently but firmly and inescapably pinned against the fridge, one hand swiftly taking the milk carton out of her hand before pushing down onto her upper back, the other clamping her mouth shut. Her loud and terrified heart beat deafening his ears. Her senses could no longer keep her alert and weary of the supernatural, he thought as his hand caressed the bruise. Her body could no longer handle physical contact, as he found another, tiny bruise on her arm. He knew Tyler had no idea he had harmed her at all, but Klaus could have torn his heart out anyway for this. Her body was fragile now. She was mortal.

"Good evening, love." he whispered into the still struggling girl´s ear.

His hands touched her bruises once more before he continued speaking. "I assume Tyler has not readjusted to your newly-discovered human needs."

Without saying anything more, he sank his teeth into her tender neck. And he didn´t stop. Not until he had her nearly drained. The last words she heard before her fluttery eyes shut was "so fragile."

When she awoke, he neck hurt like hell. Her mom was sitting next to her, looking exhausted with worry. Tyler held sat next to her. She was in a hospital room.

She started taking vervain again, knowing it would poison her blood. But the fear stayed close-by. Knowing that her human senses would never be able to give her a heads-up on his imminent arrival, she developed a slight paranoia, trying to find him in crowds, never quite believing herself to be alone.

Then the gifts kept coming. A sketch of her former vampire face mysteriously made its way into her purse. She came home one from cheer practice and her bed was covered with rose petals of all colors while her room was engulfed in candle light. There was a simple note lying on her pillow. "Soon" was all it said. She woke up the next morning, and a familiar diamond bracelet encircled her wrist. She threw it out along with the other gifts.

Her friends helped her. They tried everything in their power to keep her safe, and encouraged her to stay, knowing she´d rather not go running. Knowing she´d like to live her natural life the way she wants it, without fear. Their efforts wound up not sufficing.

He found her the night she had sent out her college applications. He sat on the edge of her bed, waiting for her to wake up as he was sure she would. The minute her eyes opened, he was already on her, pinning her to the mattress, firmly holding both of her wrists in hand, while the other opened the first button of her lavender silk pajama, revealing her creamy collarbone. "You´ve had two month, sweetheart. Time to fix this."

She struggled, as she comprehended the meaning behind his words. "No, Klaus.. please. I just got my life back. Please. Please... don´t take it away again."

"Love, it´s for your own good."

"No, it´s not. Because I like being human. I like it. All of it."

At that, fury evaded his eyes and his fangs returned to her neck. Breaking the skin. Biting into her veins. However, this time, he took his time. Slowly taking a huge sip of her blood before whispering. "You´ll get old." Another sip. "You can be killed in so many many ways." Another sip, thrusting into her shoulder like an intoxicated lover. "You´ll be gone." Then he drank until she was barely alive.

With her last bit of consciousness, she whispered. "Please, don´t do this." He answered her plea by softly kissing her forehead.

"I won´t let you go to waste. Not ever." Then he bit into his own wrist and forced his blood down her throat. Not just a few sips, but enough to make her feel conscious and strong again.

When he was satisfied that she had enough of his blood in her system to make a rare vampire-vampire sire bond inevitable, he placed both of his hands onto her cheeks, wiping away her tears.

She quietly shook her head against his hold. Then all she felt was his lips on her, before her neck was snapped.

That night he took her away from Mystic Falls. To be his for all eternity.

**Hey... this is just a random oneshot I had to get out of my system. Do NOT ask me for an update. There won´t be one. I just had to get this out of my head, so I can update Liars Liars and my other stories. **


	2. Alternate Ending

She woke up on a velvety Victorian-Style couch and she had felt the warmth of all the candles in the room long before she had been opening her eyes. Her memories were blurry. The last thing clear was her going to bed after having returned from turning in her college applications. After that, everything had been sleep. Peaceful sleep.

"What the.." she mumbled as she clutched the sheets surrounding her body. Suddenly it hit her, that she was naked, except for those sheets. Where had her pajamas gone to?

"Good morning, sweetheart." a chillingly soft voice chimed. She looked up to find two blue piercing eyes roam across her body. And then other things came back. Things that happened weeks and months ago. The glitch that had turned her human. Klaus nearly draining her in her kitchen. Klaus hovering over her last night, his whispered words. _You´ve had two months, sweetheart. Time to fix this._

In panic, her hands flew to her neck, looking for the wounds that his bite must have caused. They were gone. But, to her relief, her pulse was still there. _ I am still human._

"You know, I had been planning on feeding you my blood until you would have been drunk of it. Then I would have snapped your neck, forced some human blood down your throat, and you´d be a vampire by now. Just like you should be." he said viciously while calmly paining on a canvas.

"Are you going to kill me.?" she asked exhaustedly. Apparently he had only fed her enough blood to heal her neck, not nearly enough to make up for all the blood he had taken from her.

"Yes, love. " She gulped at his response as he slowly cleaned his hands with a cloth after putting down his painting brush. "But I´ll give you a choice between now or later."

Slowly, like the predator he was, he went to stand behind her, pressing her deeper into the sofa. "I was turned when I was 25. I am agreeing to grant you some more human time until your twenty-fifth birthday. If this is what you truly want. However, if you´re to remain human for a little while longer, it´ll happen under my conditions. If you choose to not consent to them, I will snap your neck right now. My blood is still in your system, so you´d still end up back to normal." As he calmly explained all of this, his hand went to caress her neck, while her hands held on tightly to the creme silk sheets covering her.

"What conditions are you talking about?" She asked nervously, as the pressure on her neck briefly grew.

"Well, first, since your precious human life requires a tad bit more of a security detail, you´ll move in with me. Today. Don´t worry, your friends are free to visit you at reasonable hours, so is your mom. Though, I am afraid Tyler will not be allowed inside. "

As she opened her mouth to protest, his other hand clasped around it, preventing any sound from leaving it. "My apologies, I think it´ll be more beneficial for this conversation if you don´t object to every single one of my conditions. It´s a take-it or leave-it kind of thing, not a negotiation. So, please love, just listen to me." She feebly nodded as the hand from her neck clasped around her hands, which in return were currently grasping the sheets. She shuddered.

"I´ll get to feed on you twice a day, once for breakfast and once for dinner. In return, you´ll get to still go to school until you graduate. After that, you may pick our next destination depending on whatever it is you want to do with those precious human years. As long as you let me take you there. You could go to college, or we could travel, either way, I´ll be there to protect you. No more boyfriends, no more plotting with your friends against me or against any other supernatural force that they feel like fighting. You may see them, but the second I find you taking part in their pathetic plans I will renege on this agreement and turn you instantly. Oh, and to make sure you don´t sneak around behind my back with Tyler, either one of my siblings or one of my last hybrids will be with you in school as well. Any questions, love?" he finished, lowering the hand from her mouth to gently squeeze her throat.

Caroline´s head was humming with questions. She shuddered at the thought of Klaus feeding off her. Memories of Damon were resurfacing rapidly. The thought of being under his control all the time made he feel claustrophobic. She couldn´t help the tears anymore.

"So that´s what you want. Another plaything for your collection of mindless slaves?"

"No. I am not Damon Salvatore. I want a companion. Yes, I will be going on an all-Caroline-diet, but in return I won´t feed on anyone else, and no I won´t leave any ugly marks or scars on your beautiful skin. I´ll heal you every single time." he said, locking their gazes.

"But... no, you can´t heal me. Then your blood would be... "

"... in your system, in case you have an accident. Precisely. I am not like the Damon, I will make sure you´re all right. I might reserve the privilege of getting to take you out on as many dates as I please, but other than that I´ll never force anything of you. No sex, no degrading acts, no compulsion. I just want the privilege of not having to share you any more than necessary. And... in an act of good faith, I´ve got a little something for you." Gently, he placed a familiar velvet box into her lap.

As her hands reached for the box in terror, his grasped the sheets covering her body tightly, highlighting his control over her body even more.

"I already told you I can´t be bought."

"I know, but it's not to buy you. It's to protect you. I had a witch insert vervain into the clasp. You can´t see it, but it contains more than just beautiful diamonds. It contains a promise of permanent protection from any sort of compulsion, love. Not even I will be able to compel you. " She gulped. "One word of warning though, I also had it spelled so that once you put it on, only I will be able to release you from it. Which I will. On your twenty-fifth birthday."

"What if I don´t accept the bracelet. Or your offer in general?" she whispered, already remembering the answer.

"Then I´ll turn you right now. It´s the only way I´ll know you get to live a few more years as a human. You´ll get to ripen a tad bit more. And I am sure you´ll be even more stunning in a few more years. You´ll be able to live out your dream of a human life for a few more years, and after that I´ll be assured you won´t go to waste."

"But that's not what I want. I want to live. Okay? I want to grow old and have kids and raise a family. I want one life time. Not a thousand more birthdays." she cried.

"I am afraid that is not part of the deal love." His lips grazed her shoulders, devouring her skin.

"What gives you the right to do this to me?" she asked

" A thousand years of being me." was all he said. The next thing she felt were his teeth, tearing into her shoulders.

"It´s your choice. Let me kill you now or accept my conditions. Choose. Now."

After her screaming had died down, she could barely breath. All she managed was to cry and fumble with the box. His hold on her sheets tightened with anticipation. And when the clasp of the bracelet clicked shut around her wrist, it sounded like a sentence to her.

Then he offered her his opened wrist. "Drink, you´ll need your strength." She scoffed at him, as she hesitantly drank as little as he´d let her. "Very well, on to brighter things." He moved to the curtains, and opened them. Revealing a bright and brilliant new day. Then he walked and extinguished all the candles."

Caroline just sat there and catatonically stared down at her wrist. Looking and her diamond-adorned manacle. "Lay down."

He chuckled at her fearful eyes. Remembering the temptation of just stealing off the sheet from her body. "Relax, sweetheart. I am a man of my word. I am not going to force myself on you, but I do want to paint you. You´re stunning, love. That´s all there is to it."

So that´s what they did that morning. He painted the girl that lay on his sofa, clad in nothing but a thin crème silk sheet. Quietly weeping.

Later he accompanied her to her home and explained the new arrangement to an enraged Sheriff. Ultimately, there was nothing to be done and her old life moved into a new room in his mansion, box after box.

She hated the room. A month later he would find her repainting it, and dragging around furniture. She threw out some of it, just shoved it into the hallway with no care to what will become of it. He just kept on watching her.

His hybrids kept a close eye on her, meeting her once he dropped her off at school. Watching over herat cheer practice whenever he did not feel like it. Guarding her in comittee meetings. Intercepting every attempt of Tyler to talk to her.

Her cell phone was the only thing that Klaus would not let her take along.

Her mother would stop by at the mansion every day after work, sometimes she´d find him feeding off her daughter. Sometimes, she´d have time to give her a hug. He was gentle when feeding off her, but, boy, he was greedy as well.

She got to hang out with her friends, but it was different. They all knew that hanging out at the grill was like her being out on parole. On a brief parole. No one dared to ask what was really going on. It was all different now. They relayed messaged from Tyler, but it was not enough.

Klaus grew concerned about her quieted demeanor. He knew she would not take his actions well, but he didn´t worry. He knew it was a matter of time. So he just kept on taking her out on dates. Not forcing anything physical, but never straying from being charming and seductive, never stopping in his pursuit of getting to know her.

When the first college acceptance letters came, she wound up picking the one furthest away from her friends. A school in Chicago that offered her a complete scholarship for cheerleading. Until then she picked up a part-time job at the Grill and organized herself an internship at the new mayor`s office. Anything to get out of the mansion. She was grateful that he did not prohibit either, but that didn´t stop him from frequenting the Grill during her shifts.

A couple of day later he announced to her that he´d be taking her to prom. He heard her cry herself to sleep that night.

On prom night, her mother was there, reluctantly taking pictures of them both, but secretly beaming at her beautiful daughter. The corsage was simple and elegant. Her second surprise was a limo with Bonnie and Jeremy as well as Elena, Damon, Stefan and Rebekah pulling up. Though the limo ride was not as cheery as she had envisioned it all those years ago.

He insisted on a few dances, let her sit out a few. He even let her dance one final time with Tyler when they were both voted prom royalty. Giving her one final chance to say goodbye to him.

After graduation they moved to Portland. She kept busy. She avoided him as much as she could, with his hybrids breathing down on her neck. Some days she managed to only see him for breakfast and dinner. When they were both in the big apartment, she kept to her room, wrote letters to her mom and studied. Whenever she wanted to go to a party, he found her there.

On her nineteenth birthday, he gave her a plane ticket and told her she´d get a week off to visit her mom. She was tempted to stay back there, but didn´t dare not returning. When the week was over, he greeted her with a home-cooked dinner. Pasta.

Soon he requested for her to take art classes at school as well as taking a private lesson from him once a day. It did the trick. After over a year, she finally was talking to him, at least during that one hour.

They got to know one another better, but she still resented her situation. And he would never relent.

Instead, he sat through her passive-aggressive devastation. He attended most of her cheer practices, secretly read her term papers. Taught her art. And every Friday he took her out. To museums and shows and restaurants. Sometimes all in one night.

The nightmares started on her twenty-fourth birthday. He had heard her screaming in her sleep, and had checked on her. His heart ached when she screamed his name in terror. Then she shot up, even more frightful when taking in his presence in her room, which until then he had never entered without her permission. After that, he took on to secretly watching her, guarding her. It was his most masochistic streak, listening in to her confirming her distaste for the future he so desperately wanted for them. It became a thing, he would listen in until she fell asleep, then he'd climb into her bed and hold her through her nightmares until she woke up in the morning. He only left earlier when her heartbeat indicated that the present nightmare would force her to awake sooner. After a month he had memorized her scent.

On month before her twenty-fifth birthday, she caught the flu. He ceased to drink off her for that time, but kept on feeding her his blood, right after feeding her chicken soup and after checking her temperature. And he ran her bubble baths. Part of her wished that week that this caring guy could be him all the time. This guy would not turn her.

But she got better and the old Klaus returned.

The night before her twenty-fifth birthday he drugged her. She awoke next to him in a cabin in the mountains. He gave her plenty of time to herself, walking around the green fields, soaking up the last bit of sun without a daylight ring. He gave her a picnic. A quarter to midnight he pulled out his phone and told her to say goodbye to her mother. She made a last-ditch-effort-run for it the second she had hung up and found herself gently but firmly pressed against the door, with Klaus tenderly massaging her shoulders.

"Please, don´t. Please." She sobbed. He just soothingly petted her hair. _Sshh.. love... it´ll be alright._

His fangs slowly and peacefully pierced the skin on her neck, and he enjoyed his final taste of her human blood. By the time he let go, she was too exhausted to stand. So he carried her to the bed and gently placing her old daylight ring onto her finger. He attempted to kiss her, to lull her into a sense of arousal and distraction, before snapping her neck. She, however, decided to use her last ounce of strength to turn away. She thought she heard disappointment. _As you wish, love._ Then he snapped her neck.

Her sleep was almost uneventful, except for the moment when she woke up and he just fed her blood, which she in her first moment of disorientation mistook for water. It was not just blood, he had drugged that too. So she fell back asleep immediately. Asleep in his arms.

He fell asleep right after her, exhausted from all those years of up-close rejection and fear for her life. Exhausted from loving her to a point where he chose to become the monster in her nightmares. So he did not notice her leave. When he woke up she had been gone for hours.

He sighed, hating that on the first morning of her new life, she´d not be with him, would not feed from him. Would not glare at him.

Instead of going right after her, chasing her down and dragging her back, he laid back, snuggled into the sheets that still held her scent. He had once promised her that he´d wait for her, that she´d turn up on his doorstep in a century or so. Well, she probably wouldn´t now, but he never told her about the part, where he would turn up on hers if she didn´t. He figured he could manage granting her a year to herself. As a gift to make up for the choice he took or maybe in order to spice up his game. A year he could last. Because after that, turn up, he would.


End file.
